Lower90

Lower90 Weekly August 24, 2026

Some crazy stoppage time winners, more drams in the USL League One and Gainbridge SuperLeague continue to pick up steam. Vamos!

This Week in US Soccer

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Stoppage time was the story of the week across the USL divisions, with seemingly every match refusing to settle until the final whistle — or well beyond it. The USL Championship saw the drama concentrated in late minutes throughout Friday’s slate, while League One delivered its own share of gut-punch finishes, including multiple results decided in the 90th minute or later. The USL Super League joined the party too, with DC Power FC sending a loud statement and the Florida rivalry between Sporting JAX and Tampa Bay Sun FC delivering everything you’d expect from a local derby.

Match of the Week: USL Championship — Birmingham Legion FC vs Sporting JAX

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Editor’s pick: You’ll be telling people about this one for years — Sporting JAX scored in the 90+3 *and* the 90+11 to steal a 3-2 road win after Birmingham had just leveled in stoppage time, making this the most jaw-dropping finish of the season by a country mile.

Sporting JAX stunned Birmingham Legion FC with a dramatic 3-2 victory on Friday night, Danny Wilson heading home deep in stoppage time to snatch all three points. Ronaldo Damus, Emil Jääskeläinen, Wan Kuzain, Romario Williams, and Wilson all found the net in a wild finish to a USL Championship contest that looked settled more than once.

The match was scoreless through the first half before Birmingham broke through in the 55th minute. Damus latched onto a Dawson McCartney pass and converted to give Legion the lead. The advantage lasted barely three minutes. Jääskeläinen equalized for Sporting JAX in the 58th, finishing off a Jean Mota delivery to make it 1-1.

Wan Kuzain, already carrying a yellow card from the 64th minute, showed no hesitation when the chance came in the 76th. He fired home to put the visitors ahead 2-1, a goal that looked like it might be enough.

Birmingham had other ideas. Williams, fed by Samuel Shashoua, equalized in the third minute of stoppage time to send the home crowd into a frenzy at 2-2. The point seemed secure.

It wasn’t. Wilson, picking up a pass from Ahmad Al Qaq, found the net in the 11th minute of added time to complete a remarkable late turnaround and seal a 3-2 Sporting JAX win. What had looked like a hard-earned point for Legion turned to dust in an instant.

The result gives Sporting JAX a valuable three points on the road and leaves Birmingham to wonder how a game they twice led or leveled slipped through their fingers so late.

This Week’s Highlights

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USL Championship — Orange County SC vs FC Tulsa

Arquimides Ordonez was simply unstoppable at Orange County, completing a hat trick by the 55th minute to put this one to bed embarrassingly early. Christopher Hegardt, Delentz Pierre, and Logan Dorsey piled on as Tulsa ran out 5-1 winners in a demolition job that Orange County will want to forget as quickly as possible. It’s the kind of ruthless road performance that makes the rest of the conference sit up and take notice.

USL Championship — San Antonio FC vs Oakland Roots SC

San Antonio were already hanging on after Lucio Berrón picked up his second yellow card in the 86th minute, but they looked likely to survive with a point — until Peter Wilson had other ideas. The Oakland striker drove home a 90+3 winner to send the Roots home with all three points and leave San Antonio’s home crowd in stunned silence. Going down to ten men and then conceding in stoppage time is the cruelest possible combination.

USL League One — Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs New York Cosmos

Pedro Hernandez had Chattanooga fans celebrating before most supporters had even found their seats, striking in just 60 seconds to open the scoring. What followed was pure chaos — the Cosmos mounted a three-goal swing across a frantic eight-minute spell, with Sebastián Guenzatti and Néstor Cabrera turning things around before Yanis Lelin and Philip Spengler traded blows in the second half. The final 3-3 scoreline barely does justice to just how breathless this one was.

USL League One — AV ALTA FC vs FC Naples

AV ALTA led at the break thanks to Joaquin Acuna’s 45th-minute strike and looked to be in control of their own destiny. Andrés Ferrín leveled for Naples in the 65th, and with the clock running down a point each seemed the fair result — until Nicolas Likulia buried a winner in the 90+5 to rip all three points away from the hosts in the most brutal fashion. FC Naples are making a habit of finding ways to win late.

Results Roundup

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USL Championship — Sacramento Republic FC vs Phoenix Rising FC — 2-2. Ihsan Sacko refused to let Phoenix Rising lose, bagging a brace including an 85th-minute equalizer to claw back a 2-0 deficit and salvage a dramatic point against Sacramento.

USL League One — Corpus Christi FC vs Westchester SC — 2-2. Corpus Christi came back from two goals down to level in the 89th minute, then watched their own player get sent off in stoppage time — an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.

USL Championship — Loudoun United FC vs New Mexico United — 0-0. New Mexico United had a man sent off in the 31st minute and somehow held Loudoun to a 0-0 draw for over an hour — a jaw-dropping defensive performance that defied all logic.

USL League One — Union Omaha vs Sarasota Paradise — 1-1. Pato Botello Faz broke Sarasota’s hearts in the 94th minute, turning a one-goal deficit into a dramatic draw in a match that refused to end until the very last breath.

USL League One — One Knoxville SC vs Athletic Club Boise — 2-2. Athletic Club Boise were staring down a 2-0 deficit but clawed all the way back to 2-2 with Jonathan Ricketts’ 83rd-minute equalizer — a stunning comeback that denied Knoxville all three points.

USL Super League — Sporting JAX vs Tampa Bay Sun FC — 3-2. Baylee DeSmit flipped the script with a second-half brace to put Sporting JAX ahead, but Tampa Bay’s late strike in the 76th minute made for a tense and thrilling finish in this Florida showdown.

USL League One — Sarasota Paradise vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC — 3-2. Sarasota survived Chattanooga’s desperate fightback, including a gut-punch goal in the 90+5, to hold on for a 3-2 win in a match that had late-game drama written all over it.

USL Championship — Indy Eleven vs Louisville City FC — 2-1. In a wild two-minute swing, Louisville equalized and then Indy immediately hit back to retake the lead — a momentum-shifting sequence that decided a tight rivalry clash.

USL League One — One Knoxville SC vs Portland Hearts of Pine — 1-1. Babacar Diene was so fired up after his 86th-minute equalizer for Portland that he earned a yellow card for his celebration — and no one could blame him after that dramatic rescue act.

USL Super League — Brooklyn FC vs DC Power FC — 1-4. DC Power FC were absolutely ruthless, stunning Brooklyn with two goals in the opening eight minutes and never letting up in a dominant 4-1 demolition that sent a statement to the entire league.

USL Championship — Rhode Island FC vs Monterey Bay FC — 3-1. Rhode Island looked sharp and clinical, with Sebastian Lletget starring as they built a comfortable 3-1 home win that has serious playoff implications written all over it.

USL Championship — Phoenix Rising FC vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC — 3-1. Phoenix Rising served up a dominant 3-1 performance against Colorado Springs, putting on a masterclass of control and finishing to send a clear message to the rest of the Western Conference.

USL Championship — Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs El Paso Locomotive FC — 0-1. Jabari De Coteau delivered an 85th-minute dagger to hand El Paso a crucial road win over Colorado Springs in a tightly contested battle that stayed scoreless until the very end.

USL Super League — Dallas Trinity FC vs Carolina Ascent FC — 1-3. Carolina Ascent controlled from start to finish, but Dallas briefly threatened a comeback before Sydney Cheesman’s 75th-minute strike shut the door on any Trinity revival in a 3-1 road win.

USL Championship — Lexington SC vs Las Vegas Lights FC — 2-0. Lexington went from 0-0 to 2-0 in just two electrifying minutes after halftime, with Firmino and Epps striking back-to-back to blow Las Vegas away in a stunning second-half blitz.

Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game

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